paradise in plain sight

January 26th, 2017

I was 5 or 6 years old when my sister and I would play a certain game. Whenever we got a bowl of ice cream for dessert we would mash and stir it into the consistency of batter before we ate it. We called the game “Making a Cake for President Kennedy.”

This game was not the measure of our innocent imagination. It was a sign of how much we adored our president. Alas, we didn’t get to play for long. Adoration, ice cream, childhood—and noble presidents—disappear too quickly.

After the euphoria of the marches on Saturday, the reality of our national wound dawned fresh and ugly. What can be said about an affliction so huge, an ignorance so insistent, a menace so malevolent? A lot, it turns out; but then again, not much.

A few days ago I heard from a friend and favorite author, Katrina Kenison, who writes with depth and heart about everything. She has been quiet of late. Quiet since the election. What do we say about the unspeakable? What do we do about the undoable? She wondered if she would ever feel moved to share a cake recipe on her blog again.

Yes, she will. We will all share recipes. We will shop, chop, blend and stir. Preheat the oven, oil the pan. We will set the table, pour the wine. Dress the salad, butter the bread, slice the cake and scoop the ice cream. We will invite people into our homes and feed them, you see, because that’s what the resistance does, in so many words: care.

Small things loom large in times of unfathomable crisis. Small things are how we serve.

I used to turn my ice cream into a soup too! But it had nothing to with admiration for anything but delicious messes.

I’ve printed off the self-care tips, and that cake recipe! I’m drooling. I just realized that with all this new involvement — planning meetings, action meetings — I’ve got a reason to bake. (I don’t do it much cuz we do NOT extra temptation in our home.)

Thank you. I needed that, especially the article on ‘self-care’. I recently spent time in the ER, one long and lonely night, it ended up being an anxiety attack.

We must perseveres and, as the article says, pick a couple of things to work on.

Getting away from the barrage of bad news also helps.

We must stay strong, we must not become apathetic.

Thank you again.

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Comment by Jude Smith — January 27, 2017 @ 3:58 am

Thank you for the uplifting thoughts. I keep a quote nearby to review every morning and every night : “Never postpone joy”. Indeed. I no longer think I need to go out in search of it. It is all around and I just need to stay awake ♡

Comment by Bonnie Nygren — January 27, 2017 @ 5:48 am

In the wake of the new ban on Muslims from certain countries, I’m having difficulty quelling hatred for Voldemort. The disbelief, grief, outrage, despair, are hard to experience, and the most anesthetizing route is to douse it all with burning rage at him (and his ilk). Leaving this comment is my attempt to manage. I know I’m not alone.

We do not respond to a rattlesnake as if it were a kitten. Respond in the way you can in the place you are. There are many ways to respond. You are most certainly not alone. The just and decent world rises up with you.

I marched in my pink hat and then got lost. Outside of some monthly donations to some of the issues on the top of my priorities list, what to do next? Thank you for breaking it down to a simple four letter word. Thank you for reminding me what happens when you practice that small, four letter word. Thank you for reminding me I’m not alone. Thank you for pointing the way.